Bottle coating

ABSTRACT

POSITION FOR HEATING THE COATING ON THE BOTTLES. THHE BOTTLES ARE THEN RELEASED AND DEPOSITED ON A CONVEYOR FOR MOVING THEM FORWARD WITH THE BOTTLES STANDING UPRIGHT ON THE CONVEYOR. AS THEY ARE MOVED FORWARD BY THE CONVEYOR, THEY ARE SPRAYED WITH A MOLTEN PLASTIC FOR LUBRICITY AND THE COOLED.   A SYSTEM OF COATING BOTTLES IN WHICH ROWS OF BOTTLES ISSUING FROM A LEHR, THE BOTTLES IN EACH ROW STANDING UPRIGNT SIDE-BY-SIDE, ARE PICKED UP BY THEIR NECKS, LOWERED INTO A BATH OF LIQUID COATING COMPOSITION, E.G., A CONTAINMENT COATING COMPOSITION, FOR DIP COATING THEREOF ON THE OUTSIDE, THEN MOVED FORWARDLY THROUGH THE BATH AND RAISED TO WITHDRAW THEM FROM THE BATH AND, STILL GRIPPED AS SPECIFIED, MOVED THROUGH A HEATING ZONE IN UPRIGHT

May 22, 1973 R c, RUSSELL ET AL 3,734,765

BOTTLE COATING Filed Oct. 12, 1971 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 22, 1973 R c,RUSSELL ET AL 3,734,765

BOTTLE COATING Filed Oct. 12, 1971 5 s t s 2 BOTTLE COATING 5Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 12, 1971 lllv l y 1973 R. c. RUSSELL ET AL3,734,765

BOTTLE COATING Filed Oct. 12, 1971 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG.3

May 22, 1973 R. c. RUSSELL ET AL BOTTLE COATING 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FiledOct. 12, 1971 United States Patent O Okla.

Filed Oct. 12, 1971, Ser. No. 188,157 Int. Cl. B44d 1/06; C03c 17/32 US.Cl. 117-94!- Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A system of coatingbottles in which rows of bottles issuing from a lehr, the bottles ineach row standing upright side-by-side, are picked up by their necks,lowered into a bath of a liquid coating composition, e.g., a containmentcoating composition, for dip coating thereof on the outside, then movedforwardly through the bath and raised to withdraw them from the bathand, still gripped as specified, moved through a heating zone in uprightposition for heating the coating on the bottles. The bottles are thenreleased and deposited on a conveyor for moving them forward with thebottles standing upright on the conveyor. As they are moved forward bythe conveyor, they are sprayed with a molten plastic for lubricity andthen cooled.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the coating ofglass bottles, and more particularly to a bottle coating system whereinthe bottles are dip coated, as with a containment coating composition.

The invention is generally in the same field as US. Pat. No. 2,981,639,issued Apr. 25, 1961, entitled, Process and Apparatus for Coating GlassArticles or the Like by Means of Dipping.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Among the several objects of this invention maybe noted the provision of an improved bottle coating system such asdescribed enabling efficient dip coating and drying and curing of rowsof bottles in a continuous manner as they issue from a lehr; theprovision of such a system adapted to maintain the quality of thecoating for various lehr speeds and bottle sizes and finishes; theprovision of such a system adapted to avoid entrapment of air in theusual concave bottoms of bottles as they dip into the bath of thecoating composition; the provision of such a system adapted controllablyto form a tear of the excess coating on each bottle as it is withdrawnfrom the bath, this tear being subsequently removed; and the provisionof such a system wherein lubricity is imparted to the coated bottle.

In general, in accordance with this invention, rows of bottles standingupright are delivered (directly from a lehr, for example) to a pick-upstation. There the entire row of bottles is picked up by gripping thenecks of the bottles on the outside immediately below the finish at thebottle mouths and lowered into a bath of a coating composition, e.g., acontainment coating composition, for dip coating of the bottlestherewith. The row of bottles, so gripped, is moved forwardly throughthe bath and raised as it moves forward to withdraw the bottles from thebath. The coated bottles withdrawn from the bath are then moved througha heating zone for heating the coating thereon with the bottlesgenerally upright.

Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointedout hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1A is a generally diagrammaticside elevation illustrating the system of this invention in part;

3,734,765 Patented May 22, 1973 FIG. 1B is a continuation of FIG. 1illustrating the remainder of the system;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are enlarged views of parts of FIG. 1A; and

FIG. 4 is a transverse section.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding partsthroughout the several views of the drawlIlgS.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, thereis indicated at 2 in FIG. 1A a portion of an endless belt conveyor whichconveys glass bottles B through a lehr wherein the bottles are heatedfor annealing and ion stuffing as disclosed, for example, in thecopending coassigned US. patent application of Clifiord M. Brockway andRobert B. Reif, Ser. No. 200,119, filed Nov. 18, 1971, entitled, Processfor Strengthening Glass Objects. This belt conveyor has a horizontalupper reach 2a travelling continuously in the direction of the arrowshown in FIG. 1 generally at very low speed for the conveyance throughthe lehr of the bottles. The bottles stand upright on their bottoms onthe upper reach of the belt conveyor, arranged in rows R extendingtransversely of the belt conveyor, with, for example, twenty bottles ineach row spaced at equal intervals across the width of the conveyor, andwith the rows R spaced at relatively close intervals longitudinally ofthe conveyor.

At the exit end of the forward-moving upper reach 2a of the beltconveyor 2 (its right end as viewed in FIG. 1) is a so-called dead plate4 flush with the upper reach 2a. Each row R of bottles moved forward onthe upper reach 20 of the belt conveyor to its exit end is moved furtherforward across the dead plate, over a lateral bypass endless beltconveyor 6, and on to a so-called alignment plate 7 at a bottle pick-upstation designated S1 by a bottle accelerating pusher mechanismindicated generally at 9. This includes a pusher 11 which functions topush each successive row R of bottles forward over the dead plate 4 andover the upper reach of the bypass conveyor 6 (with the latter out ofoperation and at rest) on to the alignment plate 7 at a higher speedthan the speed of the lehr belt conveyor 2.

The bottles B in the row R at the pick-up station S1 on the alignmentplate 7 are positioned for being grasped by a bottle carrier C to becarried thereby through a dipping operation and thence through a curingand drying operation. This bottle carrier C is the carrier which isfully disclosed and claimed in the copending coassigned US. patentapplication of Henry E. Hull, Herbert C. Abrams and Charles A. Cummings,Ser. No. 183,997, filed Sept. 27, 1971, entitled, Bottle Carrier. Ingeneral, the bottle carrier C comprises an elongate support 3 (see FIG.4) adapted to be conveyed by a conveyor means (as will appear) in adirection at right angles to its length, this support 3 carrying meansgenerally designated 5 for clamping a plurality (e.g., twenty) ofbottles B at their months with the bottles spaced at intervals along thelength of the support and suspended at their mouths from the support.The clamping means 5 is formed to clamp the bottles on the outsidethereof immediately below the finish F at the bottle mouths (seeparticularly FIG. 3). Support 3 has means including star wheels 69 atthe ends thereof for effecting opening and closing of the clampingmeans, and arms 83 and 85 of unequal length extending outward from heads77 at the ends of the support carrying inboard and outboard rollers 89and 87. Full details of the carrier C may be ascertained from the statedcopending application Ser. No. 183,997.

At the bottle pick-up station S1, a bottle carrier C, with its bottleclamping means 5 open, is lowered as by a suitable conveyor meansindicated at 13 to bring the clamping means into clamping position inrespect to the necks of the bottles in the row R at station S1, at whichpoint the star wheels 69 at the ends of the bottle carrier are rotatedto close the clamping means for grasping all the bottles in the row(e.g., twenty bottles). The alignment plate 7 may then be swung down(see its dotted line position in FIG. 2) to clear it from the bottles,and the motion of the bottle carrier lowering conveyor means 13 iscontinued to carry the bottles gripped thereby forward and then downwardinto a bath 15 of a liquid coating composition, and more particularly acontainment coating composition such as the acrylic-latex containmentcomposition disclosed in the copending coassigned application of LarryG. McCoy and Robert E. Sharpe, Ser. No. 189,392, filed Oct. 14, 1971,entitled, Containment Coating, Containers and Methods of Preparing Same.It will be understood that what is meant by a containment coatingcomposition is a coating for bottles that is cured by heating into aclear glossy film which imparts increased mechanical strength to thebottles.

The bath 15 is contained in a tank 17, the entrance end of which isindicated at 19 and the exit end of which is indicated at 21 in FIG. 1A.The pick-up station S1 (the alignment plate 7) is located above andslightly rearward of the entrance end of the tank as illustrated in FIG.1A. The liquid coating composition is maintained at a level such asindicated at L in FIG. 1A. After a row of bottles has been grasped by acarrier C at the pick-up station, the carrier C with the bottlessuspended therefrom and rigidly held thereby is moved forward (towardthe right as viewed in FIGS. 1A and 2) a short distance and thendownward to submerge all the bottles carried thereby in the bath 15 inthe tank. As the carrier is moved downward, it is rotated on an axisextending longitudinally thereof (this axis extending transversely ofthe tank) to tilt the bottles immediately prior to their entry into thebath to avoid entrapment of air in the usual concave bottoms CB (seeFIGS. 2 and 3) of the bottles. Note the tilted position of the bottleindicated at B1 in FIGS. 1A and 2. The angle of tilt is preferably about10 off vertical.

An elongate curing oven 23 extends forward (i.e., toward the right asviewed in FIGS. 1A and 1B) from the exit end 21 of the tank 17. Thisoven extends up higher than the tank. Extending longitudinally of thetank 17 and oven 23 at each side thereof are two sets of tracks 25 and27 and for the inboard and outboard rollers 89 and 87 at each end of acarrier C. These tracks have an inclined section D over the tank slopingupwardly from adjacent its entrance end to its exit end and a horizontalsection E through the oven at the top thereof. After a carrier C alongthe tracks up the incline of section D of dip the bottles into the tank,the inboard and outboard rollers 89 and 87 at the ends of the carrier Ccome into engagement with the entrance ends of the tracks (adjacent theentrance end 19 of the tank) for travel of the carrier C along thetracks up the incline of section D of the tracks and then horizontallyalong section E of the tracks at the top of the oven 23. Endless chainconveyor means such as indicated at 29 having pins 31 engageable withthe short arms 85 at the ends of the carrier C is provided for pushingthe carrier forward along the tracks.

As the row of bottles grasped by a carrier C is lowered and dipped intothe bath 15, once the bottoms of the bottles have entered the bath, thebottles are brought into a generally vertical position. Note the uprightposition of the bottle indicated at B2 in FIGS. 1A and 2. The bottlesare fully dipped, i.e., dipped into the bath all the way up to theirupper (mouth) ends as shown for the bottle indicated at B2. Once thebottles have been so dipped, they are moved forward and upward 'byreason of the pins 31 on the upper reaches of chain conveyor means 29pushing the carrier C forward and upward along the inclined section D oftracks 25 and 27. As the carrier moves forward and upward, it withdrawsthe bottles from the bath, and the tracks are so formed that as thecarrier moves forward and upward, the carrier is rocked on an axisextending lengthwise thereof (transversely of the tank) to tilt thebottles back as shown for the bottles forward of the B2 bottle in FIG.1A. Thus, the bottles are withdrawn from the bath at an angle to thevertical, preferably an angle of about 10, the purpose of this beingcontrollably to form a tear T of the excess composition draining downoff the bottle, this tear being subsequently removed.

As the bottles come up and out of the bath they enter the oven 23 andare conveyed therethrough for drying and curing of the coating on thebottles. The oven is preferably a hot air oven, in which a temperatureof about 350 F. to 500 F. is maintained for the drying and curing of theparticular containment composition above specified. As the bottlestravel forward through the oven, the carrier C carrying the bottles isrocked to bring the bottles to a vertical position and they travel inthis position generally throughout the entire length of the oven (seeFIGS. 1A and 1B).

At the exit end of the oven (its right end as shown in FIG. 1B), thebottles (in upright position) carried by the carrier C are brought overthe trailing end of the horizontal upper reach 33a of an endless bottletakeoff belt conveyor 33, which is continuously driven at generally thesame speed as the conveyor means 29. At this point, the clamping means 5of the carrier C is opened, and the bottles thereby released from thecarrier C are deposited in upright position on the upper reach 33a ofthe conveyor 33 and are thereby conveyed further forward out of and awayfrom the exit end of the oven. AS they travel forward with the upperreach 33a of belt conveyor 33, they are sprayed at 35 with moltenpolyethylene for lubricity, and then pass through a forced cooling zone37 for cooling the polyethylene coating, and the bottles exiting fromthe cooling zone are taken away by a lateral take-away conveyor 39.

Back at the exit end of the oven 23, the carrier C which has beenemptied of its load of bottles, is picked up by a carrier elevator 41and raised to a carrier quick return conveyor 43 which functions quicklyto return the carrier at higher speed than the speed of its forwardmovement through the bath and through the heating zone constituted bythe oven back to a position adjacent the pick-up station for being takenover by the carrier lowering conveyor 13.

If it should be desired to bypass the coating equipment, the pushermechanism 9 is deactivated, and each row of bottles is pushed forwardonto the upper reach of the bypass conveyor 6 by subsequent rows ofbottles issuing from the lehr. Conveyor 6 then delivers the bottlesdirectly to an inspection area.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of theinvention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As various changes could be made in the above methods without departingfrom the scope of the invention, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawingsshall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of coating bottles comprising delivering a row of bottlesstanding upright to a pickup station, picking up the row of uprightbottles by gripping the necks thereof on the outside immediately belowthe finish at the bottle mouths and lowering the bottles into a bath ofa coating composition for dip coating of the bottles therewith, movingthe row of bottles forwardly through the bath and raising them as theymove forward to withdraw them from the bath, and moving the coatedbottles withdrawn from the bath through a heating zone for heating thecoating thereon with the bottles generally upright.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the bottles have concave bottoms andare moved downwardly into the bath at such an angle to the vertical asto avoid entrapment of air in the concave bottoms.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the bottles are withdrawn from the bathat an angle to the vertical controllably to form a tear of the coatingat the bottom of each bottle.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein, after the heating, the bottles arereleased and deposited on a conveyor for moving them forward with thebottles standing upright on their bottoms.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the bottles are sprayed with a moltenplastic for lubricity and then cooled as they are moved forward by saidconveyor.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein the bottles are picked up at thepick-up station by a carrier which is moved downward to submerge thebottles in the bath and then moved forward and upward to withdraw thebottles from the bath and continues in motion forward to move thebottles through the heating zone, the bottles being re leased from thecarrier at the exit end of the heating zone and the carrier beingreturned to the pick-up station to pick up another row of bottles.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the carrier is returned at higher speedthan its speed of movement through the bath and the heating zone.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the carrier is moved forward by oneconveyor and returned by another.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the rows of bottles are delivered froma lehr to the pick-up station.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the rows of bottles exit continuouslyfrom the lehr at one speed and are delivered therefrom to the pick-upstation at a higher speed.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,813,045 11/1957 Abbott 11794 X2,981,639 4/1961 Kachele 117-113 3,060,057 10/1962 Johnson 1l7113 X3,178,049 4/1965 Cottet 2l5-Dig. 6 3,200,002 8/1965 Lusher 117-113 X3,341,353 9/1967 Johnson 117-113 X 3,498,819 3/1970 Lyle et al 117-94 XRALPH HUSAOK, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.

-60; 117l05.3, 113, 124 E; 118423, 503; 215-1 R, DIG. 6

